title: A short review of current laboratory microcomputer systems and practice.
abstract: In the last few years quite powerful complete computer systems have become available that fill many laboratory needs at low cost (US $3000-10,000). This development is based on the use of microcomputers, which now have capabilities that were previously associated with minicomputers. Due to the rapidly expanding use of microcomputers, a very large software base has been developed. As a result it is now feasible to use a microcomputer in the laboratory for signal averaging, controlling experiments, data analysis and reduction, printing and storage of results, plotting of graphs, curve fitting, statistics and word-processing. These applications of a microcomputer can make some other laboratory equipment unnecessary, thus providing substantial savings on items such as analog tape recorders, strip chart recorders, and stimulus generators.
mesh_terms: D000703:Analog-Digital Conversion; D000818:Animals; D003201:Computers / Q000191:economics; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D006801:Humans; D008838:Microcomputers / Q000191:economics; D009482:Neurophysiology / Q000295:instrumentation*